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When Josh Evans was 9 years old, his parents would take him to a local flea market, where he brought books, marbles and comics.

Evans had a knack for finding the best stuff, even at a young age, and people took notice.

"He would sit in the back of the car, reading comic books. People would come look at his stuff and would want to buy his marbles or his comic books, and I would go to the back of the car and say, 'Joshua, there is someone who wants to buy your stuff'," Evans' mother Maxine Evans, 79, recalled. "And then you see a grown man in his 30's, 40's or 50's negotiating with this 9-year-old kid. It was hysterically funny, and he would do well because he was very smart."

Evans, 53, of Old Bridge, never lost his entrepreneurial spirit and now owns Lelands.com, an industry leader in sports and American memorabilia.

Evans started the business in 1985, when he was 22 and just out of Babson College. His most current auction (which ends July 25) includes Jim Brown's 1964 NFL championship ring, a one-of-a-kind baseball car, a hand-written letter by Cy Young and a game-worn Ted Williams jersey.

Josh Evans is the owner and founder of Lelands.com.

NJ.com chatted with Evans at his home in Old Bridge about the sports memorabilia industry and his current auction:

Where did you come up with the name Lelands.com?

Leland is my middle name, my mother actually came up with the idea.

A baseball car is a unique item. A Volkswagen that looks like a baseball ... what's the story behind that?

I was looking online one day and I found the car. It was destroyed. It was a mess. It was not a lot of money. It was in a place out in New Hampshire and basically came out of the junkyard. I brought it for $2,000 and realized it was way too far gone, so I had to make it perfect. I had a couple thousand into the car, and then I had to invest $7,000 to fix up. I got it done and it came back beautiful. It was perfect. Everyone in the company saw the car and they thought I was insane. They were taking bets on how much money we were going to lose on it. Now we are already in the profit, so now I laugh at them. This car could end up selling for $25,000 to $50,000. It is the only one of its kind in the world.

What, to you, is the best item in this auction?

Jim Brown's NFL championship ring from 1964. It's the only one he got, we got it from a family member. I sold it for $30,000 in 1992, and eventually got it back. It's now in the current auction. A week ago Jim Brown said that the ring was stolen and [the story] was everywhere. It was a huge story and we had to go into crisis mode because the greatest football player who has ever lived is saying we are selling his ring and it was stolen, which wasn't true. Believe it or not, it happens all the time. We had our attorneys contact him, basically told him the truth, and that was it. He didn't say another word. He was just trying to save face. The ring will probably be the most valuable and expensive item, it currently sits at $58,000.

Your company bought a Babe Ruth jersey for $4.4 million. Why?

It's the best Babe Ruth jersey out there. We brought it and sold it for more, but I can't say exactly how much. That's the most expensive item that has ever been sold. We were actually willing to pay $5 million for it.

Favorite item you ever sold?

A photograph of the New York Knickerbockers, which was the first organized baseball team from the 1840's. It was a Daguerreotype, which is the first form of photography. That was the first baseball Daguerreotype known, and the first baseball team as well. Sold that many years ago.

What inspired you to join the business of dealing cards and memorabilia?

My mother. She specialized in Disney from the '30's, old toys and Beatles collectibles. She sold really high-end stuff and they were the best in the business. That's what got me into it. I was a kid and they would always take me along. They taught me everything.

You used to run reverse auctions. Explain that.

Let's say the piece I'm selling is $20. I would start at $20 dollars and go lower and lower and lower. The first person that says yes, they buy it for that price. For some reason, it's easier to go down versus to come up. You get nervous if you have to keep going up and it's more competitive. It's a very small group and they have to act. It's one decision versus like three, four, five or 10 decisions. It would be a great game show or TV show.

Is this always what you wanted to do?

Well, I was always afraid of this because you have to remember back when I was graduating from College in 1983, this business was nothing, there was no money in it. So, originally I wanted to go into the movie business and start my own records company. I had a client who was the CEO of a major accounting firm. He set me up with interviews, but I never followed through.

At the time I thought it was because I was afraid, but it was more than that. I knew that [selling memorabilia] was my destiny. I was friends with Seymour Stein, the head of Steiner records, who is known for discovering Madonna. I met him at a show and we talked about me going into the record business when I was out of college. He said, 'Don't do it.' He said, 'You know this stuff like an adult. You have the knowledge of a person who is 50 years old.' He said, 'You're too old to go into the music business (and I was like 23).' Every once in a while he calls me up and says, 'See, I told you so.'

What advice do you have for anyone entering this business?

You have to really love it, and you have to really be committed to it. It's a lifestyle as much as it is a job. You have to be passionate about it, and if you're not, you won't be great at it. It's not a 9-5 thing. If it's a 9-5 thing, you'll do just OK and you can make a living. But if you really want to be successful in this, it has to become more than that. But that's easy [for me] because this is something that is so wonderful and exciting that it shouldn't be that hard. It doesn't feel like a job. It feels fun.